50 years ago: Thanksgiving celebration, closings

Dublin Courier Herald

ANNUAL COMMUNITY WIDE THANKSGIVING SERVICE

Wednesday, November 26, 1975, 7:30 p.m.

Centenary Methodist Church

Speaker: Rev. Hans H. Lair, Unity Lutheran Church

Sponsored by: The Laurens County Ministerial Association

THANKSGIVING CLOSINGS

Most area businesses and offices will be closed on Thursday in observance of Thanksgiving.

Hartley Hobbs, Postmaster, announced that the Dublin Post Office and all stations will be closed. All Postal service will be suspended for the day. The Post Office will remain open until 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

The Dublin City Hall will be closed on Thursday and Friday.

The Laurens County Court House will close only on Thursday.

The Courier Herald will not publish a Thursday newspaper, as it is our custom to close on Thanksgiving.

THANKSGIVING…BUT WILL IT LAST?

     By DOUG HALL

Thursday morning we’re going to roll out of bed with the feeling of warmth and serenity embodied  from above. 

On the tube, the Macy’s Parade will vanquish any disbelief that the Yuletide has begun, and suddenly generosity and benevolence will be rekindled as the emotion of the season.

But will the feeling last?

“People go hog-wild at Christmas. Everybody wants to give. But people don’t get hungry just at Christmas and at Thanksgiving. They get hungry in June, too.

“Everybody loves at Christmas. Your worst enemy would love you at Christmas, and you would love him, too.” Miss Essie Mae Cobb, Director of Laurens County Family and Children Services, remarked.

“If there’s one thing I wish you could get across to people,” Miss Cobb said, “it’s that giving is a year a-round thing.”

But does the feeling last?

“Miss Cobb’s right. People go wild at Christmas doing things for us, but then comes January 1; they forget about it,” Marsha Smith, social worker, noted.

What Judy Smith, foster children worker, calls “the build up and let down” is what psychologists call holiday depression. 

It officially begins on Thursday morning.

Chances are that it will end sometime around New Year’s Day, simultaneously with the burning desire to give.

That’s the unpleasant part of the Holiday Season. But the beauty of the Thanksgiving-Christmas-New Year’s time is that at least we have one month when people forget the humdrum and enliven their spirit of humanity:

The Modernistic Society here will feed 100 needy persons on Thanksgiving Day at the Washington Street Presbyterian Church –

An elderly couple who wish to remain anonymous will feed another needy couple a Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday –

The youth of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church will have begun a food closet which will be open year-round for deprived persons –

The Dublin Lions Club will contribute ticket sales proceeds from a December 6 Circus to Family and Children Services –

And the club plans to carry fifteen to twenty foster children to Atlanta’s Peach Bowl on December 31 –

Residents of the VA domiciliary are planning a a Christmas party for foster children where they will give gifts of money and handcrafts –

Bethlehem Baptist Church youths gave a Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday for foster parents and children –

The Dublin Ladies Elks Auxiliary will sponsor a hay ride with refreshments for foster children – The National Honor Society of East Laurens High School each year provides gifts for underprivileged children –

A Christmas Store for needy persons will be started this year by Dublin-Laurens Jaycees –

The youth of the First United Methodist Church will provide dinner for 12 persons in two families – 

The First Independent Methodist Church will prepare turkey dinners for three families and will watch after them all through the year –

Pine Forest Methodist Church will provide for a needy family of seven – 

First Baptist Church Pembroke will aid an elderly Laurens County person –

Beta Sigma Phi, the Exchange Club, and Jefferson  Street Baptist youth will furnish baskets of food for families –

Mrs. Harriett Waites’ home economics class at West Laurens High School is preparing garments to be distributed to persons without –

My list could go on and on.

Before the Holiday Season is over, hundreds of  persons, schools, churches, and civic groups will contribute time, money, food,clothing,and brotherhood to hundreds of Laurens Countians.

Many will continue their good will throughout the year.

But for the rest, will the spirit last?

Let’s hope so.

LAW ENFORCEMENT STILL INVESTIGATING

Law enforcement authorities, agents of the FDIC, and bank auditors are working in the Dexter Bank following the robbery and looking for a break in the case.

Laurens County sheriff deputies had arrived at the bank minutes after the alarm was sounded and had set up a command post in the lobby of the bank building, which had been open a little more than a year.

Following several leads, police investigated the possibility that a man and a woman may have acted as decoys in the robbery, but those leads did not pan out, it was learned this morning.

After Bank President Cecil Passmore had called for help, he went to Mullis’ service station across the street from the bank. There he asked a farmer to follow the bandits when they made their getaway in a white 1969 Ford Torino.

Passmore followed the robbers through several Dexter streets, but the getaway car eluded him.  He said that he was so excited that he did not get the name of the man who drove him in the pursuit.

With in half an hour of the holdup, the white getaway car was found about two miles from Dexter on a dirt road known as the Old Dublin-Eastman Road. The car’s engine was still running when Sheriff Deputies Phillip Coney and Jimmy Rogers discovered it. The ignition had been straight-wired.

The getaway car was registered to a Centerville man who told FBI agents that he had loaned the car to his daughter, who was an employee at the Macon Mall.

An area-wide roadblock network was set up ad was not lifted until 9:00 p.m.

COUNTY COMMISSION CHANGE VOTE DOWN 

     By Doug Hall

The October Grand Jury rejected a recommendation by one of its committees to enlarge the Laurens County Board of Commissioners from three to five members.

Grand Jury Foreman Robert J. Walker confirmed this morning that the Grand Jury spurned the proposal which was made by a five-member investigating committee. The vote was taken last Tuesday during a specially-called meeting of the Grand Jury.

No action was taken on a recommendation for hiring a professional supervisor to oversee the operation of the county.

The proposal which was turned down suggested expanding the County Commission by creating two Dublin districts. Theother three districts would have remained virtually the same as present, except Dublin would have been removed from  District One. All five members would have been elected on an at-large basis. That way every voter in Laurens County would vote in each of the five Commission races, the same method used today.

Although Walker would not comment on the vote, it is believed the balloting split between urban and rural Grand Jury members.

These districts have been the same since a 1915 legislative act reduced the Commission from eight to three members.

The vote to restructure the County Commission was timed to come before the 1976 session of the Georgia General Assembly. Had the Grand Jury recommended the change, it is likely that Laurens County’s delegation to the General Assembly would have been asked to propose the changes as a legislative act in time for the 1976 county elections.

WEST LAURENS MOVING TO 3-AA

Barring any change before December 14th, the deadline set by the Georgia High School Association, Region 3-AA schools fielding football teams for the next two years will be the same as this year except that the West Laurens Raiders will be included

West Laurens played in 3-A for the last two years.

DUBLIN BASKETBALL OPENS 

Dublin High’s Irishettes and Irish basketball teams will open the 1975-76 season at the Dublin Gym on Tuesday night, December 2, against East Laurens.

Dublin’s Coach Taylor Lovell in his first year out of college has been working with a group of non-football playing boys for several weeks, but now he has his full squad since the football season is over, he announced today.

Mrs. Joyce Brown’s Irishettes will also begin playing, mostly by boys’ rules this season, using but five players at the time instead of the historically six players playing eight-minute quarters instead of seven and having free access to all parts of the court at all times.

“The game will give me a chance to see both our first opponents in action and to remember that we didn’t win a game last year and we want to start out with a victory this season.”

The “B” teams will also play.

JOSEY ROLLS OVER EFFINGHAM                                                                                                 

Josey Academy’s Warriors used a fast break to score 68 points and a half-court press to hold Effingham Academy in winning their first game of the season last night at Condor Gym, 68-42. Coach Barney Hester was elated with the way they played saying, “They played their best game since I’ve been coach.” 

Playing were Yates, 13; Williams, 16; Brown 18; Clark, 6; Aaron, 3; D. Wilkes, 4: Graham, 2; Bush, 2; Allen, 2; S. Wilkes, 2; Owens; S. Shepherd; R. Shepherd.

In the girls’ game, they were victims of the visitors, 47-33.

The line-up:

Yates (11); Graham (13); Watson (3); Beacham (5); Williams (1); Coleman, Cooper, Renfroe, Senn, Mobley, Pullen.

In the “B” boys game, Josey Academy with Danny Allen and Ed Bush getting 16 points each, defeated Effingham Academy, 47-40.

FALCONS, FALCONETTES TIP OFF

Coach Tryon Reynolds has replaced Miss Elizabeth Womble as coach of the Falconettes, and Bobby Smith has taken over as coach of the Falcons from Paul Miller. 

Coach Reynolds today listed two seniors, two juniors, and one sophomore on his starting five. That’s right: the public schools have gone to five-persons girls teams this year and mostly boys rules.

Gail Waters and Debra Williams are the seniors and are both lettermen, Janice Wright, a lettermen, is one of the juniors, and Cindy McCoy is the other junior. Hersha Lake is a sophomore.

Others on the Falconette squad include juniors Pam Brown, Pam Bush, Iris Kitchens, and Pat Burgess and sophomores Tammy Waters, Machaelle Mumford, Vickie Mumford, Linda Wilcher, and Carolyn Smith.

Coach Smith has two veterans from last year’s team back, and both are starters, seniors Laron Charleston, 6′ forward, and Melvin Moore, 5-9, guard.

The other three starters are

Al Lewis, sophomore, 6-2 guard;  

Ken O’Neal, sophomore, 6-2, forward

Anthony Lewis, freshman, 6-3, pivot. 

The two Lewis boys are brothers.

The other eight members of the Falcons squad include

Julius Miller, senior – 5-10, guard

Sam Moore, 5-10, guard

Dean Herring, 6-1, guard

Rico Cannon, 5-10, guard

Frankie McLendon, 6-1, center

Sam Beall, 6-1, center forward, sophomore

Tommy Morris, 6-1, sophomore

Mike Carter, 5-10, forward

DUBLIN THESPIANS’ TWO PLAYS 

Thespian Troupe 669 of the Dublin High School  will present the one-act play “Theatre of the Soul” by Christopher St. John at the Georgia High School Association One-Act Play contest to be held at Middle Georgia College in Cochran on December 4.

The Dublin group will be under much pressure as it will be defending its regional championship and is trying to win the right to go into state competition where it won first place last year.

The setting of the play is the inner body of man 

with the major characters being the rational self, the emotional self, and the subliminal self. 

The story of the play is the conflicts  between the Emotional Self and the Rational Self as the man battles with his conscious.

Cast in the role of the Professor Narrator is Chuck Hall while the parts of the Entities are handled by Fred Byers as the Emotional Self, Jon Taylor as the Rational Self, and John Kisalus as the Subliminal Self.

Others in the cast are Dee Hammond as the Rational Self’s wife; Diane Hammock as the Emotional Self’s concept of the wife; Claudia Bannister as the Emotional Self’s concept of the Dancer; Lisa Kisalus as the Rational Self’s concept of the dancer; and Timothy Hurd as the Conductor.

Stage crew for the production are Bill McMillan, Betsy Frost, Cathy Hess, David Dixon, Ricky Hagler, and Alan James. The play is under the direction of R.Lynn Wooddy, sponsor of Thespian Troupe 669.

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” will be presented at the Village Theatre in Dublin on December 11,12, and 15th by the Troupe. The loud mouth, forceful, conceited Lucy will be portrayed by Sylvia Abney, a Junior High School teacher. Lucy says, “If I can’t be queen, then I’ll just buy myself a queendom.” She then changes her mind and decides to devote her life to cultivating her “natural beauty.”

Glen Johnson a Dublin mail carrier, plays the bumbling, clumsy, yet good-hearted Charlie Brown, who is interested in model planes and amateur radio.

ADAMS WINS GOLF TOURNEY

June Adams won the Ladies Golf Association Tournament at the Dublin Country Club this week, shooting an 18 hole total of 88, finishing one stroke better than Lois Pollock, who posted an 89.

Merle Davis and Dot Peppers with a 93 and 98 respectively, finished third and 4th in the Championship B Flight.

In the first flight JoAnn Moran finished first, followed by Irene Claxton.

In the Second Flight, Jean Gillis was the winner with Betty Hallman runner up.

Louise McCollister had the best score in the Fourth Flight with Nannette Anderson second.

DURANT TOPS IN TURKEY TOURNAMENT

Joe Durant won the Dublin Country Club Turkey Tournament on Saturday, shooting a 27-hole total of 38-37-38-113.

Durant’s 18-hole score at 75 also gave him medalist honors.

The veteran Dublin golfer finished one stroke ahead of Chuck Hunt who posted 40-38-36-114 and two strokes better than W.J. Daniell, who shot a thirty-nine score of 35 to end with 116.

Thiryy-nine golfers took part in the tournament and all received a turkey.

BASSETT WILL ENLARGE PLANT

Joe C. Philpott, Manufacturing Group Vice-President of Bassett Furniture Industries, Inc. announced the expansion of the Dublin, Georgia, Casegoods Plant.

A 35,000 sq.ft. addition to the manufacturing area will enable this facility to increase their production capacity greatly and create a need for additional production employees.

Bassett will continue its policy of utilizing local contractors for any local expansion. This expansion contract has been awarded to Dublin Construction.

Robert H. Spilman, President of Bassett Furniture Industries stated his appreciation for the attitude and cooperation of the people in the local community to make this year of operation of this Dublin Plant such a success. “We hope this will be the first of many expansions to this facility.”

Bassett is the World’s Largest Furniture Manufacturer with 32 plants in 13 states manufacturing a wide variety of bedroom, dining room, desks, occasional tables, juvenile furniture, upholstered sofas, chairs, sleep sofas, and recliners which are distributed nationally.

FOUNDERS DAY

Each year, as with most other societies, there’s a time to stop to celebrate the founding of the organization.

Eliminating the regular procedure of celebrating Founders’ Day, we, the Modernistic Women Society, have begun a drive to raise funds to purchase an Electrocardiograph machine that will be placed in Laurens Memorial Hospital Heart Unit.

This Society began on November 11, 1968, with six members present. Down through the years we have lost members and gained members.

Standing on the motto,”Dreams of Today; Truth of Tomorrow,” we have successfully accomplished the following events annually:

scholarship fund

Little Miss Modernistic contest

Thanksgiving dinner for the underprivileged families (which is funded from the Little Miss Modernistic Contest)

Christmas party for needy children

Gifts for the convalescent homes 

Formal Christmas dance

Besides our annual events, we have undertaken many projects in the community.

Our officers are these:

Ms. Geraldine Harris – President

Ms. Ezelle O’Neal – Vice President

Ms. Loutrell Fambrough  – Secretary

Mrs. Grace Stanley – Assistant Secretary

Mrs. Ethel Bread  – Treasurer

Mrs. Geraldine Williams – Business Manager

Ms. Gwendolyn Harris- Reporter

Other members: 

Ms. Willa Oliver 

Ms. Cristine Hudson

Mrs. Eviejean Wright